INTELLIGENCE IN CHINA 04z2
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RICHARD LYNN qjvIp-
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland F8Z6Ss|v3
Studies of the intelligence of' Oriental peoples in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore pM@0>DVi
and the United States have typically reported slightly higher mean IQs than those of ;\+A6(GX{
British and American Caucasoids. Recently results have become available for a HR k^KB
standardization of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in the People's Republic of Bk1gE((
China. The results show that Chinese 6-15 year-olds obtain a mean IQ of 102.1 in relation +)d7SWO6]!
to an American Caucasoid standard of I00. \V<deMb=
A number of studies have shown that the Oriental or Mongoloid peoples HmEU;UbO-
have higher mean IQs than whites or Caucasoids of European origin in the W&a<Q)o*I
United States and Britain. Much of the literature on this question is reviewed v*e=oyx[
in Lynn (1987). The IQ advantage of Mongoloid populations has generally zhde1JE
been found to lie between 2 to 8 IQ points. A number of studies of K:sC6|wG
intelligence in Japan indicate that the mean IQ is approximately 105. Studies &$NVEmW-J
of the intelligence of children in Taiwan and Singapore have obtained mean &nF7CCF
IQs of approximately 103. A recent study of children in Hong Kong obtained a,p7l$kK
a mean IQ of 110 (Lynn, Pagliari & Chan, 1988). The extensive literature ~48mCD
on the intelligence of ethnic Orientals in the United States was reviewed by d4-cZw}+
Vernon (1982) who concluded that the mean non-verbal IQ was about 110 *
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and the verbal IQ about 97, which can be averaged to give a figure of 103.5. 4dvuw{NZ
Although data are now available on the intelligence levels of Mongoloids <H!;/p/S
in a variety of locations, the jewel in the crown is missing. This is the O7I|<H/gVE
intelligence of the population in the People's Republic of China. The interest )'?@raB!
in obtaining data on intelligence in China is twofold. Firstly, this is the P1QGfp0-J
homeland of by far the greatest number of Mongoloids. Secondly, the high rw dj
intelligence levels of Mongoloids in several locations could have been ^`!EpO>k9
determined by selective emigration from China. This is suggested by Flynn 8c'E
(1989) for the Chinese in the United States, and the same argument could be #EU x1II
applied to the Chinese populations of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. nF|m*_DW
Data on the intelligence level of the population of mainland China are crucial QGd"Z lQ
for the resolution of this problem. The required data have recently become b;sjw5cm_
available and are the subject of this report. uI[lrMQYa
METHOD b*qC
A Chinese standardization of the Progressive Matrices was carried out by UbV} !
Hou Can Zhang of Beijing Normal University in the mid-nineteen eighties. o//PlG
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The standardization sample consisted of 5,108 individuals drawn as a 8DNGqaH;dt
stratified sample from the 6 principal administrative areas of China and from 1Xu^pc
small, medium sized and large towns within these areas. The results are given +xtR`Y"
in the form of norm tables in Raven and Court (1989). These norm tables l.i&.;f
consist of raw scores for a number of age groups and the percentile <?iwi[S
equivalents of raw scores, set out in the same format as those given for the mh`VZQ@
United States in Raven (1986) and for Britain in Raven (1981). y#;@~S1W
RESULTS -n$fh::^
The American norm tables give the most precise percentile equivalents for &+t,fwlM
raw scores and for this reason are the most satisfactory standard with which Eq/%k $6#1
to compare results from China and elsewhere. For the Chinese data it is xo_Es?
possible to derive American percentile equivalents for 20 age groups over the 3&JsYQu
age range 6-15 years. These have been collapsed into 5 age groups, the /!0{9F<
percentiles transformed into IQs and the Chinese results given in relation to l4Y}<j\;
American IQ means of 100 and SDs of 15 in Table 1. Mean IQs of British Ib8xvzR6I&
children are also given in the Table, making the same calculations from the :j,e0#+sA
British standardisation sample. PfVjfrI[
TABLE 1: MEAN SCORES AND IQs OF AMERICAN, BRITISH b$ )XS
AND CHINESE CHILDREN ON RAVEN'S STANDARD zc-.W2"Hu
PROGRESSIVE MATRICES. ^?tF'l`
It will be seen that the Chinese children obtain consistently higher means
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than the American and a marginally higher overall mean than the British. e c`3
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The mean IQ of American children is depressed by the presence of Lv
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substantial numbers of blacks in the population. The mean IQ of white E>?T<!r~j
Americans is 102.2 (Jensen and Reynolds, 1982). Hence in relation to an <)(STo
American Caucasoid mean IQ of 100, British children obtain a mean of 101.2 N;\by<snN
and Chinese children of 102.1. The statistical significance of the higher mean )zVD!eG_9
obtained by the Chinese children in relation to the American can be tested by wXsA-H/`
calculating the standard errors. The difference between the means is greater ojd/%@+u+Y
than twice the standard errors and can therefore be considered statistically T|[o
significant. The Chinese-British difference is not statistically significant. dPRGL
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DISCUSSION 4E& 3{hnp
The results show that the intelligence level of children and adolescents in w_i$/`i+
mainland China is slightly higher than that of Caucasoids in the United States a|@^N
and in Britain, although the Chinese-British difference is not statistically %@jv\J
significant. In evaluating the result, account needs to be taken of the very low GP/3r[MH
living standards in China. eq\{*r"DCK
Few dispute that intelligence is to some degree determined by envi- `ja**re
ronmental conditions and standards of living. Thus children adopted by "V cG3.
middle-class families enjoying good living conditions obtain higher IQs than kST
their siblings reared in working-class families (Dumaret, 1985; Capron & l2!4}zI2
Duyme, 1989). Furthermore, the increase in living standards in the wBXgzd%L
economically developed western nations over the course of the last half 1)M>vdrP
century has been accompanied by a rise in intelligence of approximately 15 `795K8
IQ points (Flynn, 1987; Lynn & Hampson, 1986). A major factor in this K]q OLtc
rise has probably been that the increase in living standards has been %k3a34P@
accompanied by better nutrition and this, in turn, has led to improvements in P
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the neurological development of the brain (Lynn, 1990). PV%7m7=x
In the mid-nineteen eighties the per capita income in China was 227 US a4! AvG
dollars as compared with 16,636 US dollars in the United States and 8,064 S\jN:o#b
US dollars in Britain (United Nations, 1987). To equate the United States and R3$eq
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Britain with China for the standard of living it would be necessary to go back x3my8'h@
at least to the beginning of the century when British and American mean IQs =X2
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were substantially lower than they are today. Hence, if and when living +x0-hRD
standards in China improve, the intelligence of the population can be q-}J0vu\K
expected to increase further. UvOB`Vj